The Official MTD USA Thread

[Vic]

Other than making sure it's not cranked all the way up for noise reasons, the only real reason to mess with it is for matching the output of your MTD to another bass if you switch between basses on the gig (so that you don't need to change the gain control on your amp when switching basses).

Otherwise, most amps and boards can easily handle an signal you give them, so I wouldn't really worry about it.

+1

 

[KJung]

I set mine to 50-60% of max, and if I'm needing more mids, I typically set it to the low (250) setting and then boost maybe 25% or so. I also cut the treble from time to time, but I rarely boost bass unless I'm soloing the bridge pickup, and even then, sometimes all I do is give it a bit more 250 and still leave the bass eq alone. All that and even without using a particularly mid-forward rig... epifani UL and Eden, Markbass, Mesa M6, etc.

+1 When I played MTD's as my primary basses for quite a while, really the only thing I did regarding tone controls was, on occasion, boost that 250hz thing to add fullness and punch, especially per your point above, when favoring the bridge pickup. That is a VERY nice mid control set at that lower frequency.

Interestingly, I'm currently giddy about the low mid control on my primary gigging amp (TecAmp Puma), which is also set at 250. That's a nice frequency with a moderate Q to add 'punch and fatness without mud' IMO!

 

[Vic]

+1 When I played MTD's as my primary basses for quite a while, really the only thing I did regarding tone controls was, on occasion, boost that 250hz thing to add fullness and punch, especially per your point above, when favoring the bridge pickup. That is a VERY nice mid control set at that lower frequency.

Interestingly, I'm currently giddy about the low mid control on my primary gigging amp (TecAmp Puma), which is also set at 250. That's a nice frequency with a moderate Q to add 'punch and fatness without mud' IMO!

HUGE +1

I know the 400Hz thing is kinda' magical in the studio, but at least live, if I need more punch, I like 250 bettah! That's my current favorite eq frequency center to boost no matter where I'm boosting it.

 

[RColie]

Well, I took the plunge and ordered an MTD-635. I chose a mahogany body with a Zebrawood top and a wenge neck and fingerboard. I play through Epifani UL amps and speakers, so I'm thinking I'm going to have "too much of a good thing" with a very wide and somewhat dark sound.

I play in a jazz/rock/new age trio, so I'm not too concerned with cutting through the mix, and more concerned with filling a lot of sonic space while the guitar player is doing his thing. I also have an MIA Deluxe Jazz V for the songs that need a punchy sound.

Any comments on my choice of woods and how the bass will sound? Obviously, I should have asked this question *before* I ordered!

Bob

 

[DRay521]

Haha. If you can believe it, I actually didn't know about the preamp gain dial in the cavity until Tony (XavidmanX) told me/showed me this past Sat. when I went over with my rig + MTD to take Alleva off his hands.

What do you other MTD owners set your preamp dial at? Stock setting? Half way? All the way?

My 435's older (#81) and I sent it to Mike T. to have the buffer replaced. He sent it back with the trim pot (preamp) maxed out, and said my electronics weren't quite as hot as his current models.

That being said, I keep my treble and bass boosted about 40-50%, mid switch at the up position and boosted maybe 10%. If I switch to the bridge pickup, I cut the treble about 20%, and boost the mids to about 60% and drop the switch to the low position. This gives me a great slap/modern fingerstyle tone in the neck and center PU blend, and a great punch in the bridge PU.

 

[KJung]

Well, I took the plunge and ordered an MTD-635. I chose a mahogany body with a Zebrawood top and a wenge neck and fingerboard. I play through Epifani UL amps and speakers, so I'm thinking I'm going to have "too much of a good thing" with a very wide and somewhat dark sound.

I play in a jazz/rock/new age trio, so I'm not too concerned with cutting through the mix, and more concerned with filling a lot of sonic space while the guitar player is doing his thing. I also have an MIA Deluxe Jazz V for the songs that need a punchy sound.

Any comments on my choice of woods and how the bass will sound? Obviously, I should have asked this question *before* I ordered!

Bob

I wouldn't lose too much sleep over this. While I personally don't think the MTD/Epi matchup is a particularly good one for my tone, it's IMO and IME primarily an issue with the voicing and limited EQ control of the Epi head, not the MTD or the cabs. If you like a very dark, huge big tone like you hear in TBer VroomVroom's clips, you will be fine. Nothing wrong with that tone at all... deep, fat, warm.

It the MTD match-up with that rig is too 'big and voiced' for you (and IMO the voicing of the 902/502 will greatly reduce the difference you hear between wood combinations on the MTD's anyway IMO), it's an easy thing to get a head that is a bit tighter and more evenly voiced with greater EQ control.

That MTD spec should be very nice. My main concern, quite frankly, would be weight.

 

[Dr_Funkdamental]

My gosh that's awful advice. Another case of a great player who is just as clueless as many others regarding EQ.

I hate to even think about this 18db or more of boost from a battery operated circuit, including a shelving bass control going into an amp. My god.

This might be a Talkbass first for me in that I'm not even going to say IMO!

Im interested to ask why would you say hes clueless? Its what he likes, and judging from his gig/recording history, it seems to work with no issue.

 

[KJung]

Im interested to ask why would you say hes clueless? Its what he likes, and judging from his gig/recording history, it seems to work with no issue.

Clueless does not mean that it can't sound decent for a great player. The question is would it sound better using a little more traditional and more 'text book correct' EQ strategy. Massively boosting three bands (with the mids and low band overlapping a bit, and a big hole between the mid band and the treble band) with a battery operated on-board preamp is just, quite fankly, a dumb thing to do. If it works for him, gosh bless him.

However, if you listen to his bass tone on the recent Chaka live CD, that's exactly what you will get...a boomy mess with some click up top. If that's 'OK' with you, and you don't mind a bunch of hiss coming from a battery preamp with lot's of boost, then cool

There are a lot of 'famous' bassists who sound good and are successfuly using totally strange left hand technique also (i.e., with the thumb parallel to the neck, etc.). It obviously works for them. Would I recommend other players to emulate them.... well.... no

I actually find a negative correlation between gear knowledge, EQ knowledge, etc. and playing skill (and, unfortunately, that pertains to me also).

I will also give this post another rare 'no IMO'. It's the truth!

 

[RColie]

I wouldn't lose too much sleep over this. While I personally don't think the MTD/Epi matchup is a particularly good one for my tone, it's IMO and IME primarily an issue with the voicing and limited EQ control of the Epi head, not the MTD or the cabs. If you like a very dark, huge big tone like you hear in TBer VroomVroom's clips, you will be fine. Nothing wrong with that tone at all... deep, fat, warm.

It the MTD match-up with that rig is too 'big and voiced' for you (and IMO the voicing of the 902/502 will greatly reduce the difference you hear between wood combinations on the MTD's anyway IMO), it's an easy thing to get a head that is a bit tighter and more evenly voiced with greater EQ control.

That MTD spec should be very nice. My main concern, quite frankly, would be weight.

Thanks, Ken. I've been thinking about trying some other amps with the Epifani cabinets. I know you really like the MarkBass heads. I'm also intrigued by the new ShuttleMAX 12.0. It seems to have a lot of different tone options (tube, FET, two parametric mid controls, blendable channels). The weight of the bass never came up in my discussions with Mike. Hopefully I'm not spawning a 10 pound monster!

Bob

 

[KJung]

Thanks, Ken. I've been thinking about trying some other amps with the Epifani cabinets. I know you really like the MarkBass heads. I'm also intrigued by the new ShuttleMAX 12.0. It seems to have a lot of different tone options (tube, FET, two parametric mid controls, blendable channels). The weight of the bass never came up in my discussions with Mike. Hopefully I'm not spawning a 10 pound monster!

Bob

Just to be clear, the Epi heads are great, they just have an inherent tone like any other head, which to me does not particularly go well with the MTD's in general. That's obviously within the context of my personal tone goals of an even, bright tone out in the audience, which requires a suprising amount of upper mid and treble projection from the rig along with precise control of the deep bass frequencies, given how room acoustics typically work.

And... I would HIGHLY recommend discussing weight with Mike. If you think 10 pounds is a monster, my guess is you are in trouble with this spec.

 

[xkimsungminx]

Thanks for that extra bit of info on the preamp gain dial. I'm going to mess around with it more after I get my lazy A self to change the strings on the MTD and, like KJung said, to match the gain output on my Alleva so I won't have to mess with the Master/Gain on my amp when switching.

 

[Dan Knowlton]

my rig + MTD to take Alleva off his hands.

NICE combination of basses!

Dan K.

- my five year old is helping me pick out the emoticons!
:scowl:

 

[XavidmanX]

Thanks for that extra bit of info on the preamp gain dial. I'm going to mess around with it more after I get my lazy A self to change the strings on the MTD and, like KJung said, to match the gain output on my Alleva so I won't have to mess with the Master/Gain on my amp when switching.

IMO, you're going to have to turn the gain down on the MTD all the way in order to get close to the Alleva. Nothing against the AC, but MTD's are some of the hottest basses around in terms of gain output (and looks).

However, I always liked the tone a bit better when I boosted the gain on my MTD's. Theoretically it shouldn't change the tone at all (should it?) but to me it sounded a bit better that way. Brought out some punch and liveliness in the bass.

 

[Vic]

IMO, you're going to have to turn the gain down on the MTD all the way in order to get close to the Alleva. Nothing against the AC, but MTD's are some of the hottest basses around in terms of gain output (and looks).

However, I always liked the tone a bit better when I boosted the gain on my MTD's. Theoretically it shouldn't change the tone at all (should it?) but to me it sounded a bit better that way. Brought out some punch and liveliness in the bass.

Interesting. I have to admit I didn't A/B with the AC's when I had them, but with my gain trim set to 50-60% max my MTDs seem to be right around the rest of my stuff. Close enough anyway. In fact, most of mine came with the gain all the way down and I had to turn them up to match.

 

[tombowlus]

Interesting. I have to admit I didn't A/B with the AC's when I had them, but with my gain trim set to 50-60% max my MTDs seem to be right around the rest of my stuff. Close enough anyway. In fact, most of mine came with the gain all the way down and I had to turn them up to match.

My MTDs seem to run a bit hot. I find that 33% is fairly close to other active basses, but still a bit more signal than my passive basses.

 

[Vic]

My MTDs seem to run a bit hot. I find that 33% is fairly close to other active basses, but still a bit more signal than my passive basses.

That could be. I just knew it wasn't balanced at minimum.

 

[tombowlus]

That could be. I just knew it wasn't balanced at minimum.

Tru, dat.

 

[KJung]

IMO, you're going to have to turn the gain down on the MTD all the way in order to get close to the Alleva. Nothing against the AC, but MTD's are some of the hottest basses around in terms of gain output (and looks).

However, I always liked the tone a bit better when I boosted the gain on my MTD's. Theoretically it shouldn't change the tone at all (should it?) but to me it sounded a bit better that way. Brought out some punch and liveliness in the bass.

Not totally sure what this post means. With an internally adjustable preamp, there is no inherent 'hot or not'. The preamp puts out as much or as little as you want it to depending on the position of the trim pot.

The Alleva's have moderately hot output (i.e., while the preamp is set at unity gain with the passive pickups, the output of the passive pickups is pretty robust).

I would think you would hear no difference at all in a 'blind' listening situation with the MTD gain matched with the Alleva or other 'passive unity gain' instruments.

Looking at it the other way, would you rather control the input level going into your amp using a little battery operated on-board preamp, or from the gain control of your amp or preamp

Edit: And just in case, you should always use the passive input with any bass that you can (including the most active of basses like the MTD). Basses like the MTD allow you to adjust the output down just a touch if necessary so you don't have to pass your signal through that extra capacitor that cuts volume, and in some cases, a bit of sparkle from your tone when using the active input of an amp. IMO and IME!

 

[VroomVroom]

What the heck...I'll chime in, catching up on a few things.

Andrew Gouche. On the live CD, I really don't like his tone, but man do I love his playing. I recently saw a Chaka concert on HDNet, and he took an extended solo (wardrobe misfunction backstage?) over 'My Funny Valentine,' and I liked the tone a lot better. Still very mid-scooped (to my ears), but if he gets that to cut, more power to him, right? I will say that he must have magic fingers...putting the treble knob past 'half' on either my MTDs or the Sadowsky just makes me want to cover my ears. I can't imagine standing in front of any amp with the knobs cranked on an MTD...but again, more power to him if it works. For me? I want all those knobs set flat. My selfish-stubborn-OCD. I'll boost or cut a wee bit, if I have to...but any more than that and I'm usually looking for another instrument.

Instrument output. I've got two MTDs, each with identical electronics, and two Roscoes...ditto. With the pre-gain set at 50ish%, neither of them matches the other. Other than a curious shrug, I can't say I've given it much thought. On the MTDs, the main motivation for even realizing this was that I noticed my 635 was set lower than the one on the 535. I moved it up, kinda-sorta hoping it might make the sixer sound as monstrous down low as the fiver. No such luck, but then that sort of supports the notion that each bass is different, regardless of similarities in woods (my MTD's are nearly identical - ash/walnut bodies, while the neck on the 535 is maple/maple vs ash/maple on the 635).

Ditto on using the passive input. I got this great advice about three years ago, and am still amazed at the difference.

 

[KJung]

What the heck...I'll chime in, catching up on a few things.

Andrew Gouche. On the live CD, I really don't like his tone, but man do I love his playing. I recently saw a Chaka concert on HDNet, and he took an extended solo (wardrobe misfunction backstage?) over 'My Funny Valentine,' and I liked the tone a lot better. Still very mid-scooped (to my ears), but if he gets that to cut, more power to him, right? I will say that he must have magic fingers...putting the treble knob past 'half' on either my MTDs or the Sadowsky just makes me want to cover my ears. I can't imagine standing in front of any amp with the knobs cranked on an MTD...but again, more power to him if it works. For me? I want all those knobs set flat. My selfish-stubborn-OCD. I'll boost or cut a wee bit, if I have to...but any more than that and I'm usually looking for another instrument.

Instrument output. I've got two MTDs, each with identical electronics, and two Roscoes...ditto. With the pre-gain set at 50ish%, neither of them matches the other. Other than a curious shrug, I can't say I've given it much thought. On the MTDs, the main motivation for even realizing this was that I noticed my 635 was set lower than the one on the 535. I moved it up, kinda-sorta hoping it might make the sixer sound as monstrous down low as the fiver. No such luck, but then that sort of supports the notion that each bass is different, regardless of similarities in woods (my MTD's are nearly identical - ash/walnut bodies, while the neck on the 535 is maple/maple vs ash/maple on the 635).

Ditto on using the passive input. I got this great advice about three years ago, and am still amazed at the difference.

+1 My tone comments in one of my previous posts had NOTHING to do with Andrew's playing on that CD. It's KILLER. The tone, IMO not so much, and again IMO, that EQ setting explains a lot to me regarding his MTD tone. I guess that will give you what some call the 'Gospel Scoop', but that's just a horrible tone in a mix to me personally.

+1 also regarding the trim pot. Just like on volume pots on amps, the absolute settings mean very little (30%, 50%... it's arbitrary) IMO. It depends what pot design is in that particular batch of pre's, etc.